Unexpected Events
by MrsLefroy
Summary: AU: Tessa's parents die in a car accident, her brother is working in London and when she flies to Europe to stay with him, he has other plans. Boarding School. Tessa feels lonely and abandoned, but then four people come along to help her fit in. Will she ever feel home again? ALL HUMANS.
1. Saying Goodbye

**Disclamer:** **I don't own these characters. They all belong to Cassandra Clare.**

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**Saying Goodbye**

Two weeks ago a knock on the door echoed through the house, time stopped the moment she saw the police officer. Her parents had been involved in a car accident, none of them survived. Emptiness, hurt, loneliness, confusion, disbelief. Tessa couldn't believe she'd be alone now, she was too young, still sixteen and her only family was in London working, her older brother.

In day her whole world had shattered, everything she knew would soon be just a memory, even against her wishes, she'd be flying to London that morning and saying goodbye to the only city she has even known. New York.

"Last call to flight DY7016 to Gatwick, London."

The voice in the speaker brought Tessa back to earth, her mind wandered the whole time while waiting by the gate to get in the plane. A lot of questions and issues worried her, she and her brother had been close when he was still in New York, but would he be happy to see her? Tessa couldn't help but feel something twist inside her, he'd always had problems with gambling and alcohol, and back home their parents controlled it, but no one could guarantee Tessa that in London he could control himself.

"Miss, isn't this your flight?" A bold man spoke to her, his tone was friendly and the underlying concerne in his voice made her look down at her ticket.

"Oh my god. Yes it is!" Tessa exclaimed, awkwardly picking her handbag from the floor and tightening the grip of a book against her chest. She took off half-running to the entrance of the gate, apologizing numerous times to the woman that scanned her eyes through Tessa's ticket and ID.

"No problem. Have a good flight Miss." The woman smiled politely.

"Thank you." Tessa bowed a little, grateful. She wasn't sure exactly what she was grateful for, her genuine smile perhaps. For the past weeks the only smiles she got from people were of pity or of sympathy out of what happened to her parents and what it made of her now. An orphan.

Somehow she had been lucky, no one sat next to her in the plane, although some people do like company on plane flight, she didn't think she would. Tessa had never been on a plane before and right now talking was still very hard for her.

She sighed, thankful for the time alone, she was exhausted, all the paperwork to transfer schools, packing, selling the house, all the things she'd never dreamed of doing, not anytime soon. Tessa reached for her book on the next seat and started to read, it was one of the two books she could bring with her, _A Tale of Two Cities_. The classics had always influenced the way she thought, she admired how men were usually described as gentlemen and polite, and women as talented and fragile. However, she was pretty aware of the dangers outside of a wealthy family and that women were basically treated as intellectually inferior than men, but they were respected and appreciated, something that she no longer saw in society.

Tessa had fallen asleep reading, skipping the two meals offered by the airline, the flight was over six hours long and that was the most peaceful time she has had since that knock on the door. She only woke up when a cabin assistant gently tapped her shoulder.

"Miss, we've landed and everyone already left."

"Of course…" The tinge of red on her cheeks was obvious, Tessa quickly gathered her belongings and made her way out, only stopping when she walked out of the airport, glancing around to find her brother, who she expected to pick her up. For some reason she couldn't find him, there was no one waiting for their loved ones in the hall anymore, she was alone in the room.

"Where are you Nate…" She whispered desperate to see his face, but there was no message on her phone and two hours had passed already.

After the flight Tessa just wanted to rest and eat something warm, she was drained of energy and she couldn't remember the last time she had had a good night of sleep, yet she was stuck in the cold airport, sat on the floor, her luggage next to her.

"Tessa." A familiar voice echoed in her ears, she wasn't sure if it was real anymore, the exhaustion had settle inside her half hour ago. "Tessa." She heard it again, finally glancing up to see her brother's fair hair carefully combed to the side. "I couldn't arrive earlier, but I'm here now. Let's go home." He reached for the travel bag while Tessa slowly stood up, her handbag over her shoulder and the book against her chest, a habit she developed when she was younger.

"Nate." She smiled for the first time in two weeks, she longed to see her brother's face for so long.

"We can speak when we're in the car." He was brief and straightforward. Tessa sensed something wrong but stopped herself from saying anything yet. Nate was always so sweet and gentle with her, his features were harder now and his words were rough.

"Did you borrow the car from one of your coworkers?" She asked as she reached for the seat belt.

"This car is mine."

"Oh… I'm glad you're earning a good salary." Tessa's mouth perked up into a smile, at least he was in a good path, she thought.

"Yes."

His words were cold, the girl was confused by his distant behavior, she wondered what had happened to him while she was in New York, what made him so indifferent for her presence there.

"N-Nate…" She hesitated, he clearly didn't want to talk to her. "What will happen to us now?"

He glanced at her for a moment before his eyes were back on the road. He looked older, Tessa thought, beside the coldness of his behavior, she wondered again why but the course of thought was broke.

"I'll go back to my house and you'll stay here."

Tessa moved her gaze to see a big and old building, it was beautiful yes, but confusion quickly clouded her mind. "What?" She gasped. "Why? I-I thought… Why can't I stay with you?"

"I don't want you there." He said, cold and indifferent as before. "I made sure all the paperwork for your transfer was done in time, they're waiting for you. Goodbye Tessa."

Shock and horror were plastered across her face, she could feel the tears stinging her eyes but she swallowed them back, promising herself she'd remain strong. She had cried a lot for the past days, she was exhausted, and even thought the lump in her throat was large enough to stop the words from coming, she managed to say one single word, with all the disappointment and hope it could bear. "Nate…"

"Welcome to the London Institute Miss Gray." A woman had said, her eyes on Tessa. "I'm Headmistress Branwell and this is Sophia, my most trusted student, we're here to help you settle down."

Tessa didn't know how the car door opened, she couldn't remember, but her body involuntarily moved to stand up. Her brother had already took her travel bag from the car trunk and was standing next to the car, away from Tessa.

"Nate please…" The words escaped her lips, she was counting on staying with him when she got on the plane, she needed him more than ever, and yet he was abandoning her at the doorstep of what looked to be a boarding school.

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_A/N: __So I had this idea and I thought why not? I'm really excited and I hope you like it._

_I'll try to post every two days or so. Thank you for reading._


	2. New Beginnings

**Golden herondale:** _I'm going to try to be faithful to the book so there will certainly be Will/Tessa, Jem/Tessa and Will/Tessa/Jem. I just love these three together too much. Thank you so reviewing and I hope you like the new chapter. :)_

**Disclamer:** **I don't own these characters. They all belong to Cassandra Clare.**

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**New Beginnings**

Her mind was still a chaos, nothing made sense. She'd lost her parents and now her brother. She was left in a boarding school full of strangers and her heart tightened at the thought of never seeing her brother again.

"Miss Gray?" The Headmistress seemed worried, honestly Tessa couldn't blame her, she could feel her body trembling and something told her she was paler than usual.

"Mrs Branwell, I think she had no idea she was coming to the Institute."

"Miss Gray, are you feeling alright?" She eyed the american girl with concern. Her brother had already left without a word, her bag was perfectly still where Nate had left it, waiting for someone to pick it up. Tessa finally moved slowly for the bag, her muscles had been frozen for what felt eternity, her fingers curled up around the handle and she blindly started to walk towards the door, silent and heartbroken. The two other women followed her, Tessa hadn't noticed any of them until the girl, who looked like she was maybe two years older than her, spoke again.

"Theresa, I can take the bag. You don't look too good." Her lips were pressed together and Tessa could see the pity in Sophia's eyes.

"I'm fine, thank you." She swallowed, her gaze was still empty. "And please, call me Tessa."

"Very well Tessa. Sophia will help you with your belongings and maybe show you the Institute later." The older woman glanced at the other girl, who nodded respectfully. "And I'd like to see you after lunch, after you rest of course."

Nodding, Tessa followed the other student. Sophia had taken her bigger bag and explained that this boarding school was slightly different, students stayed until they are nineteen, an additional year of pre-training for college. Tessa thought it was strange, but maybe that's why her brother put her there, he knew she'd look for him right after leaving. Sophia also introduced herself, next year would be her last, and apparently she hoped Mrs Branwell would give her a place as her secretary in the school.

"So this is your room. You won't share the room with anyone since your brother requested it." Sophia informed her.

"Oh right," Tessa tried to force a smile but failed miserably. "Thank you for helping me."

"My pleasure." The girl smiled widely, Tessa only now noticed the long scar on the right side of her face. The american thought Sophia was definitely beautiful, there was something natural and genuine about her, the scar could bother some people but not Tessa. She couldn't think any less of people based on their looks, her mother always made sure of that. "Would you like help to unpack?"

"Oh no," Tessa was sure the girl noticed her looking at her scar, her face flushed bright pick and she adverted her eyes. "I can do it. I'd like to ask you if you could take me to the Headmaster later though. I'm not sure I remember the way back…"

"No problem!" Sophia didn't seem to bother when people stared at her scar, maybe she was already used to it, but Tessa thought it wasn't any less rude to do it. "I can pick you up at two?"

"That'd be lovely, thank you."

"Great then." Sophia smiled, her eyes widening as she remembered something. "I almost forgot. I got you something to eat, I wasn't sure if you'd be hungry after the flight so here. It's a tuna sandwich."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." At the sight of food her stomach groaned, Tessa had skipped so many meals she was sure she'd faint soon. She gratefully took the sandwich and smiled as the other girl waved goodbye and left.

Looking around, the room was rather large compared to hers back in New York, the furniture was antique, much like what she read in her novels, there was a bed, a majestic chair, a wardrobe, three shelves, a door to the individual bathroom and a window. Tessa glanced outside, it was the view of the front of the Institute, the memories of what had happened just moments ago floated in her mind and she could feel a dagger on her back, she felt betrayed but she couldn't stop wondering why her brother had left her here.

Tessa shook the thoughts away and reached for the bed. Her handbag was still on top of it, together with her book and the sandwich, she place the first two on the chair across from it and lied on the bed, eating. She wanted to rest, yet her mind wondered back to the moment when Nate left America until she finally fell asleep. Tessa had been wondering a lot lately.

"Tessa?" Someone was knocking on the door for her. Slowly her eyelid opened and she realized she was not in her room, reality hitting her hard. "Tessa, are you alright?"

"I'm coming." She said, clearly still sleepy. "Give me a minute."

Quickly she glanced at the phone and realized it was almost 2:15pm already, Sophia must have been knocking for quite a while and Tessa couldn't help but curse under her breath, she hated to make people wait for her.

"Sorry, I was sleeping." Tessa had only time to grab her phone and a grey cardigan before she opened the door. "Should we go?"

"Don't forget your keys." Sophia said amusingly.

"Oh right…" Tessa mumbled, reaching for them and stuffing them in her pocket after closing the door.

"So are you feeling better?"

Tessa looked puzzled at the girl. Did she know about her parents? "Sorry?"

"You looked surprised," Sophia recalled. "And rather shocked too…"

"Oh that, yeah… I'm better." She glanced down, gripping her hold on the keys at the memory. "Thank you, for showing me the way. I'm not sure I'd find the room on my own."

"My pleasure. I have no classes in the afternoon so it's refreshing to do anything other than studying." Sophia's smile was sincere, Tessa could tell she could trust her and rely on her. Much like one would rely on an older siblings, although Tessa never really relied on Nate but otherwise.

As they walked to the Headmistress' office, Tessa looked around her. There weren't a lot of students, not like in her old school, but she could tell that much like in every school, there were groups, groups she'd have to get familiarized with before she got in trouble. And when Tessa decided to look down instead, she saw a blonde girl eyeing her curiously, although her mouth disclosed her annoyance at the american girl.

"Wait here." Sophia smiled before knocking on a door and vanishing inside the room.

Tessa's first instinct was to hug herself against the nearest wall, she felt awkward and misplaced. She could feel someone's eyes on her and before she could think it over, she glanced sidewards to find a raven haired boy on the bench opposite where she was standing. His eyes were so bright, Tessa wasn't sure exactly what color they were, a mix of violet and blue, they were definitely special. Tessa and the boy had been staring into each other's eyes intensely for quite some time, snapping out of it when she heard the door opening.

"Tessa, Headmistress Branwell is waiting for you." Sophia said, before noticing what distracted the american girl.

Blinking quickly after breaking eye contact with the mysterious boy, Tessa moved to walk inside the room, but not without glancing back one more time to find an empty bench.

"Miss Gray, please seat."

Tessa sat across the woman, clasping her hands together and taking a deep breath, she only hoped Mrs Branwell would give her some answers.

"Your brother payed for your stay here until you're ready to go to college. He made sure you'd be looked after and despite his persistence we can't keep you here every weekend." Mrs Branwell was so professional, Tessa couldn't bring herself to interrupt her and make her questions, she just stared at her and listened. "You're allowed to leave the Institute twice a month, but never during week day, obviously.

"Here you have your schedule." The Headmistress slid the paper toward Tessa. "I've asked Sophia to help you these first few days, she's in the room just down your corridor. It'd be good for you to exchange numbers." She suggested, her hands clasped on top of the some paper work. Her brown hair was up in a bun and her equally brown eyes were understanding, she was quite elegant, Tessa thought. Her posture was admirable despite her young appearance, it made the american wonder how someone so young could be the face of a boarding school. Whenever Tessa heard boarding school she imagined a jail with an old, strict and frowning woman as Headmistress, and here in front of her was a woman quite the opposite. "Any question?"

Shaking her head, Tessa finally looked down at her hands, she'd been peeling off the cuticle skin around her fingernails and was bleeding from two of them. Curling her hands into fists to cover it, she glanced back at Mrs Branwell.

"You're free to go then." And at that Tessa quickly reached for her schedule and stood up to leave. "And Miss Gray. I'm sorry for your loss."

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_A/N: Yes I ended up posting it today, I was so excited that I wrote the second chapter shortly after finishing the first._

_Thank you for the reviews and enjoy!_


	3. Mystery Leads to Curiosity

**Golden Herondale****: **_Thank you very much! I'll keep that in mind, no worries :) Enjoy the new chapter!_

**Disclamer:**** I don't own these characters. They all belong to Cassandra Clare**

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**A puzzle ignites curiosity; the mystery keeps it burning**

Back in her room alone, Tessa decided to unpack. She didn't bring much, but then she didn't have a lot of belongings either other than books maybe. As she folded the last pair of jeans on the bag and put it in the wardrobe, Tessa mumbled a lullaby under her breath, and then put the empty luggage under her bed. She was done with cleaning and rearranging things, now it was her turn to get cleaned up.

Grabbing clean underwear, black jeans and a beige blouse with a black peter pan collar, Tessa walked to the bathroom attached to her room, it was small but very well stocked. A pile of clean towels was on a shelve next to the shower, under the toilet and opposite to the porcelain sink and mirror, there was shampoo and soap, everything was clean as if brand new. After placing her clean clothes on the toilet seat, the girl started undressing and opened the shower door to wash away the dirt and sweat that made her skin sticky.

The shower was revitalizing, she was relaxed and feeling a lot better, while combing her wet hair, Tessa thought maybe she should explore the school a little by herself. She knew her hair would gain a lot of volume if she didn't blow dry it a little, but she decided to put a brown headband and let it dry naturally. Tessa put on her brown oxford shoes and grabbed her copy of _A Tale of Two Cities_ before she walked out the door, bringing her grey cardigan just in case.

Much like Sophia, Tessa had the afternoon free, and as she walked down the corridor she saw students of all ages heading to their classes with full bags. They don't use uniform, Tessa realized. Her notion of boarding school was so wrong, it didn't look like a prison, most students seemed happy and even though most of them were there alone, this was their home and here was their family throughout most year. Tessa wondered if they'd soon be her family too, if she'd ever call this place home, but the sound of a violin playing caught her attention, breaking her line of thought, and she realized the sound came from the room at the end of the corridor.

Without thinking it through, Tessa opened the door to find a young man playing, his hair was black and she wondered if it was the same boy she had seen by the Headmistress' office.

"Will?" He asked, but never ceased playing. "Will is that you?"

Tessa couldn't speak, she wanted to listen and she didn't know what to say, but as the boy turned she blushed.

"Will-" He stopped as soon as he saw Tessa. The way he looked at her made her nervous, but he smiled at her and her body relaxed. "You're not Will."

"I'm Tessa." She introduced herself, she could feel her cheeks warm up. "I'm new here."

"You're American." He sounded surprised but his gentle smile never faded. "I'm James Carstairs, but call me Jem."

"Yes I am. From New York." She added quickly. Jem's asian features were strikingly beautiful and angular, his eyes dark with a gold flecks, and she only now noticed the silver streak standing out from the black of the rest of his hair. "You play the violin with passion."

"Thank you. Do you play?"

"No, but the sound of violin is magical and I've always loved it." She said, clutching to the book against her chest.

"But I can tell you like to read." He pointed out, glancing at the book in her hand. "A Tale of Two Cities. I saw Will reading it once."

"I love books, I'd say they're my best friends." Tessa admitted proudly. "Do you like books?"

"I'm not an avid read, unfortunately. I spend most of my free time here, Will is not as passionate about violins as you seem to be." It amazed Tessa how his smile was so genuine, effortless even.

"He must be a fool then, I don't think there's a more beautiful instrument."

"I'm afraid I couldn't agree more." He said, his smile widening, if it was even possible it made him look more handsome. "So Tessa, tell me about you." He put the violin in its case, closing it before sitting on top of the table next to it.

"There's not much to tell really…" Tessa tightened the grip on the book instinctively.

"Everyone has a story." He disagreed, looking at her carefully. "But I understand if you do not wish to tell it to a complete stranger, of course."

"I'm not comfortable, _yet._" Tessa smiled weakly, speaking about it would only make her think about it and she was determined to clear her mind off the past for a change. "I'm sorry."

"Oh don't be, we've just met and it's your life after all. Don't feel obliged to spill your heart out for me on our first meeting."

Tessa smiled, he was so understanding and easy to talk to, wasn't for the problems be so recent she was sure she'd have told him everything about her. She was sure he'd noticed her staring but for some reason he didn't seem uncomfortable by it, even staring back at her.

"I'll have to leave, I'm meeting Will. Will you stay here?" He asked as he reached for the violin case.

"No, I mean," She said, unsure where she was going either. "I'm not sure yet."

"Alright then, it was a great pleasure to meet you, Tessa." He beamed. "See you later. _Hopefully_."

"It was lovely to meet you too, Jem." She said before remembering something she had wanted to ask. "Oh and Jem, who's Will?"

"Oh right, sorry. Will is my best friend, I'll introduce you to him sometime." And with that he left, leaving the door open for Tessa, but not before glancing back at her and smiling for what seemed the thousandth time.

Taking a deep breath, Tessa walked out the door, closing it behind her just before someone bumped into her, her book falling out of her hands.

"I'm so sorry," She apologized, kneeling down to grab her book and help the other person. "I'm not usually this clumsy."

"It's fine, it's fine. I was distracted one here." A female voice said next to her.

"Here, your papers." Tessa got back on her feet, shaking off the dust off her black jeans before handing them to the dark-haired girl in front of her.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed with a bright smile. "You're the new girl everyone is talking about aren't you? You're American, right?"

"That's me." Tessa shrugged lightly, everyone there had the most amazing Londoner accent. Part of her wished she could speak like that, so proper and polite, like she imagines the characters of her books to speak. "I'm Tessa."

"Cecily, but Cecy it's fine." She introduced herself. "It's so exciting to have you here. I came to the school not so long ago too."

"It's lovely to meet you Cecy." Tessa was glad someone else was new there, somehow it reassured her people wouldn't just ignore her for being the new kid.

"I could show you around!" Cecily exclaimed. Her eyes were incredibly familiar, Tessa could swear she'd seen a similar pair of eyes somewhere. "But not now, I'm late for maths. We can meet in the cafeteria later?"

Tessa was about to reply but before she knew Cecily was taking off running, shouting back at her something like, _"See you at eight."_ The American smiled as she saw the other girl sneaking in just before the teacher closed the door, he didn't seem surprised that she was late and for a moment Tessa thought he was chuckling.

The library was the next stop, somehow she'd managed to find it. As soon as she walked in, Tessa found Sophia studying, she was alone and rather concentrated. Tessa had told her she didn't have to walk her around that afternoon, she wanted to explore a bit by herself. Carefully not to interrupt her study, Tessa decided to seat some tables over so the other girl wouldn't feel pressured to talk to her out of obligation. Going through the shelves, she finally found the classics section, some of her favorite books were there, names like _Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Wilkie Collins, Emily Brontë, Alexandre Dumas _and finally, her absolute favorite, _Charles Dickens. _Tessa moved her fingers down the spine of a copy of _Great Expectations_, falling in love with it as if it was the first time she saw the book. This old edition was beautiful, the binding was green with golden embellishments, the letters also in gold, it was so soft to the touch that she gasped. "It's so beautiful…"

"Oh why, thank you!" A voice said, the cheeky tone catching her attention. Tessa was surprised to hear someone else, even though she didn't quite understand what was said. "_Great Expectations. _You like Charles Dickens._"_

"How do you-"

"You're holding _A Tale of Two Cities_ and currently touching the spine of a quite old copy of _Great Expectations_." He interrupted her. Tessa only now glanced up to see the mysterious boy from earlier, her eyes widening slightly, surprised to see him. "Would you like to snap a picture? Perhaps it will last longer."

Tessa hadn't realized she had been staring at him for longer than she should, her cheeks warming up as she looked down at her book, cursing in her head for being so weird. "No thank you, I'm fine." She tried to sound unaffected by his comment.

"So do you?"

"Do I what?" She knitted her eyebrows together, confused.

"Do you like Dickens?"

"Why don't _you_ tell me? Aren't you the expert-"

"I am an expert, but what fun would it be to talk alone?"

"You might as well be, I can barely finish a sentence." She pointed out.

"Now, how rude of me. Go ahead, what were you saying?"

"I-…" Tessa couldn't remember what she was saying just seconds ago, closing her mouth quickly, but not fast enough.

"Yes, Tessa?"

"How do you know-"

"Headmistress' office, earlier today." Of course, Tessa remembered as she glared at him for interrupting her yet again.

"Right."

"You should be careful with that book, the biding might soon start to bend." He glanced at the book against her chest, smirking.

"What-" Her grey eyes widened, following his gaze to her chest, and gripping on it tighter before bringing it to her side. For some reason he made her nervous, there was something about him that Tessa couldn't figure out, he seemed so indifferent to everything. "Oh right…"

"Tessa?"

"Yes?"

"Are we playing a game?" He cocked his eyebrow up, grinning teasingly.

"What do you mean?"

"You keep ignoring my questions." His eyes were so hypnotizing, Tessa couldn't help but stare into them, drown in the blue of them.

"What?" She asked, shaking her head before focusing on the books on the shelve next to them. She had to stop looking at him.

"_This is a world of action, and not for moping and drooling in._"

"Droning." She corrected him.

"What is droning?"

"The quote." She said. "_This is a world of action, and not for moping and droning in._"

"Oh," He grinned, folding his arms over his chest. "I know that."

"Tessa?" A female voice called her from behind.

"Yes?" She asked, glancing back to see Sophia.

"Was that Herondale?" She frowned.

"Who?" Tessa looked back at the boy but he was long gone. "Oh I don't know his name."

"Be careful." Sophia advised her. "There's a lot of rumors that he's not exactly the best of companies." But quickly Sophia's features softened into a smile. "So how has been your day so far?"

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_A/N: So this one was a bit longer than expected, and the one I enjoyed to write the most._

_Here is Tessa's outfit: (polyvore) __tessa_gray_outfit/set?id=148599294_

_Thank you for reading and reviewing and enjoy._


	4. Trouble in Paradise

**Disclamer:**** I don't own these characters. They all belong to Cassandra Clare.**

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**Trouble in Paradise**

After chatting a little with Sophia and telling her how she had met some people today and that she'd have dinner with this raven-haired girl, Tessa returned to her room with the old _Great Expectations _copy. Sophia would have dinner in her room that night, she had a big test coming up and apparently she eats in her room a lot, Tessa could never do that back when she lived with her parents. And quite honestly she already spent too much time alone.

Sitting on her bed, after taking off her shoes, Tessa grabbed the book and started reading. She always re-reads her favorite books at least once a year, this was the first time she read _Great Expectations_ that year, but it also felt like the first time. Exciting and full of mystery, Tessa can't help but feel Pip's pain whenever Estella played with his emotions. The whole plot fascinates her, the benefactor being Estella's father after all, her own ruin after the dead of her husband when she meets Pip again, Tessa gets lost in it all.

It felt like it had only passed less than a hour when Tessa glanced at her wrist and realized it was almost 8pm, Cecily would be waiting for her and she still wasn't sure where the cafeteria was exactly. Tessa left the book on the bedside table, she put on her cardigan, looked in the mirror to make sure she didn't look too bad, and after putting on her oxfords, she left the room. Reaching for the golden angel hanging on her neck, Tessa squeezed it before making her away to the cafeteria, wherever it was. Her mother had given it to her when she turned sixteen, it was hers before, a family heirloom Tessa assumed, but now she couldn't imagine herself without it.

Assuming this was Tessa's first day at the school, she made a pretty good job at finding the cafeteria by herself. Following the crowd wasn't that hard anyway, it was dinner time for everyone after all. Scanning the crowd around, Tessa's eyes looked for the girl she'd met earlier, Cecily.

"Hey Tessa!" said a friendly voice behind her.

"Oh hey!" She greeted Cecily who had just arrived and stood next to her. "I was looking for you."

"And now you've found me!" Cecy exclaimed. "Let's find our seats, shall we?"

Tessa followed her, aware that most cafeteria had their eyes on her. The perks of being the new kid, Tessa thought. Her eyes never moved from Cecily's neck though, she was too nervous, afraid she'd accidentally make eye contact with anyone in there.

"Here, I need to introduce you to some people!" She cut through the crowd, pushing Tessa with her by the arm, till they got to a table where the boy she'd met earlier was with someone else. She wasn't expecting to find Jem again, although she part of her was glad she did.

"So boys this is Tessa, the girl I've met earlier today."

"We've met." Jem smiled at her, even his eyes were smiling somehow. "Will, this is the girl I've told you about."

Tessa's cheeks warmed up at that, she wasn't used to all the attention she was getting, but before she could say anything, the other boy, also back-haired like Jem, turned to finally face her and she gasped in surprise. It was _him_.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Tessa." It was the boy from the library. "Jem has told me a lot about you."

"I-…" Tessa was confused by his words, didn't they meet earlier? But after a moment she decided to play along, glaring at him as she said, "The pleasure is all mine _Mr. Herondale_. Although I'm not sure there's anything to tell about me."

"I know that you like _A Tale of Two Cities_."

"And how exactly do you know that?" She cocked her head to the side and shot Will a deadly look, unaware that Jem and Cecy had been exchanging confused looks.

"I might be guilty here." It was Jem who spoke this time. "I didn't think it would be a problem. This is Will, the friend I kept mentioning in our conversation."

"Oh no, it's alright," Tessa reassured Jem with a smile. She was the only one standing now, Cecy sat next to Jem, she was pretty sure they weren't the only ones looking at her now, so she slowly sat down next to _Will_, the infuriating boy she had met earlier twice but couldn't be bothered introducing himself in either occasions.

"Are you sure you haven't met each other before?" Cecily asked as she glanced between Tessa and Will with suspicion.

"No." They said in unison, raising even more suspicion.

"Alright…" Cecy folded her arms on top of the table, changing the subject. "So are we going to eat or?"

"Of course." Jem smiled, standing up to get in the line before suggesting. "Maybe someone should stay to save the seats."

"I can stay." Tessa said before anyone had the chance.

"Alright then. Tell me what you want and I'll bring yours too." Cecily offered and Tessa felt guilty, but she wasn't sure she wanted to face a line right now.

"Same as you it's fine." She smiled gratefully.

"Oh I'm staying too." Will spoke, making Tessa look at him, ready to protest. "In case the Lightworms decide to grace us with their dense egos and sheer idiocy."

"Good idea Will," Jem agreed, much to Tessa's displeasure. "The usual?"

Will nodded and Tessa could no longer see her new friends.

"Why did you lie to them?" Tessa took the opportunity to ask, her eyes reproachful.

"Why did you?"

"I-…"

"Well there you have, we're both guilty, aren't we?" And there it was again, his smug smirk. "Besides, what difference would it make?"

"I don't like lies."

"Sometimes the truth is so boring though."

"You're so infuriating, has anyone ever told you that?" Tessa accused him, resting her head on her hands.

"More times than you know."

Tessa was going to ask what he meant by that when someone approached them. A handsome brown haired boy with the most beautiful green eyes Tessa had ever seen who, much like Will, seemed to smirk a lot.

"Herondale, you got yourself a new companion I see."

"Oh no, we're just-" But before she could finish the sentence, Will did it again.

"Shut up, Lightworm." Will hissed. "Leave us be."

"So much for being polite and you don't even let…" And the boy glanced at Tessa.

"Tessa." She completed him.

"_Tessa_ finish her sentences." Clearly he was only there to irritate Will, which amused Tessa for some reason.

"I'm glad someone takes my side on this one." Tessa grinned teasingly.

"Well you're free to go with Lightworm here if you want." He spit the words out, Tessa would think he was hurt by her words, wasn't his constant indifference. "I won't stop you."

Tessa had to admit, for some reason his indifference hurt, she was trying to understand why he always pushed her away and was so defensive, but it was in vain. How could someone like Will be Jem's best friend? Jem is always so gentle and sweet, a true gentleman. It made no sense to Tessa.

"Trouble in paradise." The other boy seemed pleased with his result and left.

Being alone with Will after what happened was awkward, tension was definitely in the air. Tessa could only hope Cecily and Jem would get back soon or she would end up saying something stupid to avoid the silence. The line was still long, Tessa couldn't find either of them in the crowd, she was starting to regret staying behind. Will hadn't said a word for over five minutes, looking anywhere but at Tessa, and she could feel eyes on her again.

"I do." She gave up, answering his question from earlier.

"You do what?" Will looked at her for the first time since the green-eyed boy interrupted them.

"I do like Charles Dickens." She pressed her lips together, glancing at him. "He's my favorite author."

"_Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule._"

"What?" Tessa asked, unsure what he meant.

"Don't be fooled by Lightworm's decent-enough looks, he's an idiot."

"Again insulting Gabriel?" Asked Cecy as she sat down, placing both trays on the table, Jem right after her.

"Gabriel?" Will asked, creasing his eyebrow. "Since when are you two close enough to call each other by the first name?"

"We've spoken a couple times." Cecily shrugged as if it was nothing important. "I still don't get why you two can't bear to be in the same place at the same time."

"Long story short, your brother broke his arm when we were younger." Jem explained as he reached for his fork. Tessa understood now the resemblance between Cecily and Will, the same high cheekbones and raven hair, her eyes were darker though.

"Why?" Tessa asked after a gasp of surprise.

"Gabriel wasn't pleased with the way Will treated his sister." Jem glanced at Will and exchanged a smile with him, but Will didn't smile back.

"Oh…" Tessa wasn't sure that's what she expected to hear, whatever it meant. Although Tessa could imagine a lot of scenarios, and in most of them Will and the girl had been romantically linked, if not even sexually.

They chatted the whole dinner, Jem and Cecily explained how things were like in the boarding school, who she should avoid, the basics apparently. Will on the other had remained the whole dinner silent, Tessa wondered if it was because she agreed with Gabriel earlier, but then decided that perhaps Will was just quiet when he wasn't being irritating.

After dinner Cecily had to run to the library before going to bed, Will vanished without saying goodbye and Tessa was left with Jem.

"So can I escort you to your room?" He asked with a smile, his cheeks were flushing a little.

"That would be lovely, thank you."

It was so easy to talk to Jem, his kindness made him so approachable, Tessa couldn't think why anyone would dislike him, which apparently Gabriel did. Although if Tessa understood correctly, it was because he and Will were inseparable.

"What do you think of the school so far?" He asked as they walked out of the cafeteria.

"It's small compared to my old one." She observed. "But I like it, there's less drama, I hope."

"I can't tell you that will be true. We do have some drama queens around here." He chuckled. "Have you met Jessamine?"

"I don't think so." Tessa tried to remember everyone she'd met so far, but the name didn't ring a bell.

"She's in my class and Will's," They walked side by side and Tessa sometimes stole glances of him. He was taller than her, his hair sometimes covered his eyes and his body was slenderer than Will's, Tessa wasn't sure why she'd noticed that though. "Jessie is a good girl, but she makes a drama out of anything. She wants to marry Prince Harry one day, you see."

"She definitely dreams big." Tessa laughed. She remembered wanting to marry Charles Darney after reading _A Tale of Two Cities_, she thought he was everything a woman could hope for, honest, admirable and faithful.

"Indeed she does."

The silence between them was definitely different from when she was with Will. Tessa was comfortable with it, she knew Jem was still there, mind and body, he was reliable and, "Jem?"

"Yes?" He glanced at her.

"Tell me about yourself." Tessa was curious about him, there weren't a lot of boys like Jem in her old school. _There weren't a lot of boy like Jem. Period._ "If you want, of course."

"I'm afraid I'm not so interesting, Tessa."

"Well I beg to differ." She crinkled her eyes, getting lost in his for a moment. The gold flecks still fascinated her.

"Unfortunately I think we'll have to leave it for another time." He said, stopping in front of her door.

"How do you know this is my room?" She tilted her head to the side as she asked, she didn't remember telling him. But he just glanced down at her hands, she'd been carrying the keychain with a number on it. "Oh right…"

"So goodnight Tessa. It was lovely to meet you." He started to turn away when he glanced back at her. "Could I walk you to your class tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, that'd be very kind of you." Tessa smiled, grateful for all his kindness. She needed friends and Jem was always so friendly with her. "Goodnight Jem."

* * *

_A/N: I have a big exam coming up so I don't know when I'll update again next week. I'll try to update at least twice._

_Thank you for reading and I'd appreciate if anyone had any critic or advice. My native language isn't english so I'm not confident my writing is anything special, although I really want to improve it. Thank you and I hope you enjoyed._


	5. Wrong Question, Unpredictable Answers

**Disclamer:**** I do not own these characters. They all belong to Cassandra Clare.**

* * *

**Asking the Wrong Questions Won't Get You the Right Answers**

The knock on the door meant Jem was already there. Tessa had messaged Sophia, freeing her from the trouble of walking her to class that morning. She had been doing that a lot, it felt like she was being ungrateful but Tessa just felt like a burden. Even after Sophia assured her she wasn't. "One second!" She shouted, reaching for her messenger bag, grey coat and phone. That was it, this was her first day of school there. Squeezing her angel for a moment, Tessa took a deep breath before opening the door, her eyes crinkling. "Good morning."

"Good morning Tessa."

"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting for too long." She apologized, bitting her lower lip and gripping on the strap of her bag.

"I'm afraid it's my fault, I left my room a bit earlier than I was meant to." What a better way of starting the day, Tessa thought, Jem's genuine smile certainly made a great difference. "Should we go then?"

"Yes." They started walking down the corridor after Tessa locked her door. "What class do you have now?"

"Mandarin."

"Oh," Tessa was surprised they taught it there, but apparently there were enough students to teach the language at the Institute. "Can you say something in Mandarin?"

"Huānyíng!" Jem beamed, "Welcome!"

"Did you always know Mandarin?"

"My mother was chinese, I was born in Shangai." He explained. "And although we spoke english at home, my mother made sure I learnt Mandarin too."

"Do your parents still live in China?"

"They're no longer among the living." Jem's eyes drifted away, "What class do you have?"

Learning about Jem's parents made Tessa remember her own, how she still couldn't believe they were no longer there. The memory of the day of their deaths crept back into her mind and suddenly she was back in New York, mourning them alone.

"Tessa?" She didn't notice she'd bumped into Jem, he must have stopped in front of her. And from the looks of it, he had been speaking to her, he definitely sounded concerned. "Tessa, are you alright?"

"Jem, I'm sorry about your parents." Her eyes were glued to his, shiny, watery.

"Tessa it's fine," Jem carefully reached for her free hand and squeezed it. "It was a long time ago."

"But it doesn't mean the hurt will ever stop."

"It won't," Tessa didn't think his half smile was out of pity, of understanding maybe. Jem always seemed to know what was going on in her mind, and although that would be terrifying if it was any other person, she felt safe with him. Somehow she knew she could trust him. "But it will start fading."

The bell echoed in the corridor, apparently they been standing there for some time now and while they could have been in time in class, they're late now and Tessa has no idea where exactly her class is.

"Oh my god," She gasped. "This is my fault, I'm sorry Jem."

"Not entirely." He smiled at her, moving next to her. "What's your class?"

"Science."

"Mr Branwell's class." He took her hand and started running down the corridor, turning left. "Come!"

Tessa was caught by surprise but followed Jem, and when one of the teachers at the school shouted at them not to run in the corridors, they both chuckled and slowed the pace until they could no longer be spotted by someone superior. Soon they were in front of the classroom, as expected the door was already shut.

"Late for my first day," Tessa said breathless, she was still chuckling. This was the happiest she had been in a very long time, despite the circumstances. "Perfect."

"Mr Branwell is one of the most benevolent professors in the Institute." He reassured her. "You have nothing to worry about."

"I hope you're right," She confessed, Tessa didn't want to be reprehended on her first day. Smiling, she let go of Jem's hand and knocked on the door. "Thank you for taking me to class."

But before Tessa could hear an answer, the door opened and a tall man with red hair and kind eyes hurried her inside with a big smile on his lips.

The class seemed to last forever, science was never Tessa's favorite subject. Sure she admired all the inventors and scientists they talk about in class, but she had to admit that she didn't want to know what would happen if she mixed magnesium and sulfur, or how the human being evolved. _Thank god I had that energy bar before class_, Tessa thought. However, Tessa did learn something in that class. Tatiana Lightwood was her classmate. Tatiana as in the girl whom apparently had her heart broke by Will. The girl that eyed Tessa the whole class, her gaze was definitely not a friendly one.

At lunch she found Cecily and the two spoke about their classes. Cecily seemed a little bit troubled when Tessa spotted her on the line, according to her she'd been paired up with Bridget, which taking from the irritation in her voice, was a big punishment.

"She's always singing these songs," Cecily complained, bringing her hands to her face. "Ugh why me? I bet Professor Lightwood did it on purpose!"

"Singing can be nice…"

"No! You don't understand, her songs will haunt me for life." She shook her head. Tessa could tell she was very frustrated, and desperate.

"I'm sorry Cecy." Tessa brought a spoonful of soup to her lips, blowing a little before sipping it.

"This is all Will's fault. If he wasn't a pain in the ass, Mr Lightwood wouldn't have me paired up with Bridget the Tragedy Prophet."

"Is he Gabriel and Tatiana's father?" Tessa was curious. The Lightwood family seemed influential in the Institute, but the gang didn't seem very found of them.

"And Gideon's." Cecily added. "Rumor has it he has been trying to take the Institute from Mrs Branwell. Unsuccessfully of course, Mr Wayland nominated Charlotte after retiring. He's the owner of the Institute."

Tessa made some extra questions about the Lightwoods and learnt that Gideon is the captain of the soccer team, he's in the last year and surprisingly he's the quietest of the siblings. Gabriel is sub-captain of the soccer team, the charming one, according to Cecy. Tessa could tell the girl was fond of cocky Lightwood, Cecy's rosy cheeks when she realized she'd been rambling about Gabriel sold her out. And lastly Tatiana. Cecily only had a word to describe the female Lightwood. Bitchy. Tessa didn't want to judge Tatiana without having a chance to get to know her better, but the disdain in her eyes and sense of superiority that she radiated 24/7, made it hard to not be judgmental.

The rest of Tessa's classes were equally boring, followed by sciences in the morning came maths. As friendly as Mr Penhallow is, Tessa couldn't stop yawning, which back in New York was frowned upon by her teachers, but Professor Penhallow didn't seem to mind. Drifting away from reality, Tessa gazed at the window, it was raining outside. She had heard that rain was daily bread in London, it didn't surprise her, but the absence of snow in February was still odd. The last lesson of the day was citizenship. Tessa didn't have it in her old school, she was clueless, but she walked in the classroom and soon the subject awoke her interest.

When she walked out of the classroom, Tessa spotted Gabriel Lightwood coming her way. Or perhaps he was just there to pick up his sister, Tessa couldn't tell yet.

"Tessa, isn't it?" The american girl was pretty sure she'd introduced herself to him before, but she nodded anyway. "Are you alone?"

"Yes…"

"Curious," He arched his eyebrow and eyed her. Tessa shifted, the way people seemed to observe other people here made her a little uncomfortable, she wasn't used to the attention. "Would you like to join us tonight for dinner?"

"Don't hold your breath Lightworm," Will's voice surprised Tessa, she hadn't seen him approaching. Will had the ability to materialize himself when you least expect it. "I'm here to rescue her from your tentacles."

"I don't need-,"

"You know worms don't have tentacles, Herondale." Gabriel pointed out confidently. Tessa wasn't pleased for being interrupted, but she was pretty sure she'd be forgotten very soon.

"_Eunice aphroditois_," Will was leaning against the wall, and for some reason that was attractive. Not that Tessa noticed. "Very colorful on the outside, appealing and shiny, but it doesn't change its nature."

Gabriel didn't take Will's words lightly, his eyes were shooting daggers at Will, if it wasn't for Tatiana's arrival, Tessa feared Gabriel would have launched at Will. The Lightwood girl noticed her brother's nemesis right away. Obviously, after all something between them happened and Tessa could tell Tatiana wasn't happy to see her there, probably because Tessa had dinner with Will last night.

"Will," Tatiana's eyes were all over him, Tessa noticed how she played with her long brown hair and her flirtatious smile tried to win him over. The american couldn't help but express her loathing by pressing her lips together and widening her eyes at how pathetic Tatiana looked.

"Tatiana."

"How are you? We should hang out sometime." She looked at Gabriel, but her gaze quickly returned to Will. "Gabriel why don't you take Tessa with you? Wasn't that what you came here for?"

Tessa could swear Gabriel's head was in imminent danger of exploding, and she could feel her own cheeks warm up due to the embarrassment too.

"I'm afraid that won't happen." Now Will was moving towards Tessa, taking her free hand in his. Despite the surprise, Tessa didn't protest but instead glanced at him. She had been unconsciously chewing on her lower lip, so when she saw Will look back at her she stopped immediately.

"Now why don't we let Tessa choose?" It was Tatiana who spoke.

"I…" When all attention was on her, Tessa's hands started sweating, she hated having all eyes on her. It took her a moment to steady her heartbeat but she managed to face Gabriel and apologize. "I'm sorry Gabriel, I appreciate the invitation but I already had plans. Maybe another time?"

"Of course." The Lightwood boy nodded politely and smiled at Tessa. She never found out why he invited her to have dinner with his family, Tessa assumed it was because she was new there. Quickly the Lightwoods left, more Gabriel had to drag a pouty and irritated Tatiana away from them.

"_I don't like lies_, you said." Will imitated her.

"I don't."

"Then why did you play along?" _Why do you have to ask so many questions?_

"Because I need to speak to Jem," She said. "And I do enjoy your company, despite your grumpy humor."

"I don't know what you mean by grumpy. I'm an extremely charming young man."

"I'd say you're a six." Tessa teased him and surprisingly Will laughed for the first time since they met.

"You judge the company severely, Miss Gray."

"_We are so very 'umble._" Tessa quoted Dickens. "You should learn from the books you read Mr Herondale."

"David Copperfield."

"You're not the only one that can quote Dickens." She stated matter-of-factly. "Although your ability to memorize quotes is admirable."

"Likewise."

"Not really, I can hardly remember more than four quotes of his." Tessa shrugged. "Will."

"Tessa."

"Why are you always so indifferent to everyone?"

_Wrong question, and yet again you ruin another conversation with Will._ She muttered under her breath. His body tensed when she made the question, he immediately let go of her hand and stuffed it in his jean pockets, his eyes looking anywhere else but at her and the usual coldness settled in. Tessa wanted to hit herself for doing it again, curiosity always got the best of her and his mysterious nature didn't help a bit. Now it was too late to take it back so she decided to just let it go and avoid his glare, which wouldn't be hard because he made sure their eyes didn't meat anytime soon.

"We should go."

And the silent walk to the cafeteria began.

* * *

_A/N: There's no reference relative to Bridget's age so I decided she'd be Cecy's age, although I know she's definitely older in the books._

_This chapter is not very good, I've been so caught up in my studies that it was hard to find time to write it._

_I'll try to update during the weekend. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!_


	6. Byronic Hero

**Disclamer****: I do not own these characters. They all belong to Cassandra Clare.**

* * *

**Byronic Hero**

Silence was not always awkward, but the tension in the air was swallowing her up. Unlike Jem's, Will's silence bothered Tessa. As much as she didn't want to admit, he got under her skin. There was steel in his words, "_We should go."_ she repeated them in her head. The more she tried to find an explanation for his nonchalance, the more she wanted to know why. Why was he so… aloof? Surely it couldn't be only with her.

"Will," someone said, Tessa was too caught up in her own thoughts to make out who spoke. "Tessa."

It took her a moment to shake her thoughts away, she had been pulling at her lower lip and tugging at her sleeve unconsciously and it wasn't until Cecily - or was it Jem? - pointed out.

"Earth calls Tessa," Cecy snapped her fingers in front of her face.

"Hmm… sorry," Tessa excused herself, finally looking up. "I need to do something."

When Tessa started to turn on her heel she felt someone's fingers against her skin. It wasn't Will, he wouldn't show weakness, or whatever it was. It was Jem. His fingers were gently wrapped around her thin wrist, he was worried, his expression made her her throat dry. Tessa didn't want to worry anyone, especially not Jem who has been nothing but kind to her. "I'm fine." She said with a weak smile, but her eyes steadily held his gaze. She gave him a reassuring nod and he let go. "See you guys later."

Running, that's what it felt like, as her heart slammed against her ribs. But it was more than that. It had been only yesterday that her brother left her with nothing more than a _"Goodbye Tessa."_, there was something in his eyes when he said it. Not sadness, not regret, _coldness_. Coldness. The word echoed in her head. How could she think of figuring out why Will was so indifferent to people when her own brother ditched her in that place? Someone she'd known her whole life. At least she thought she did. Tessa wasn't sure what to think anymore.

It was late but the library door wasn't locked when she tried to push it open. Tessa let out of the breath she didn't know she had been holding when she scanned the room and realized it was empty. She wasn't really sure why her feet had taken her there instead of her room, but maybe it was because it wasn't really her room, was it? Either way she took her notebook from the bag and sat at the desk. With a sigh, she started scribbling quickly.

_Dear Nate,_

_Why did you leave me here?_

With a frustrated grunt she ripped the page out and squeezed it in her fist, tossing it aside. It went on like this for quite some time, it was exasperating. Nothing she wrote seemed good enough, the words didn't bear enough sorrow, enough pleading, enough disappointment. _Enough anger, repulsion. _Most of the papers surrounding her only had _Dear Nate_ written on them, some were almost full letters, properly signed. But all of them carried the same questions. _Why the sudden change of heart? Why the sudden coldness? Why to your sister? _But most importantly, _What have I done?_

But it was useless, even if she managed to get her brother's address. Then what? If he wanted to reply to her questions, give her an explanation, he'd have done it on the drive here. He could ignore the letters. _He'd ignore them_. But he couldn't ignore her if she went to him.

Standing up, Tessa reached for her notebook and pen, putting them into her bag, before she strolled out of the library, leaving the papers scattered around the desk. Not thinking of the aftereffect if someone ever read them.

* * *

It was already friday, two days had passed since she spilled her heart out on paper and she still had no idea where she could find her brother. Tessa didn't join her friends for dinner that night, instead she went to her room and spent the night working on an escape plan. She had planned to go after him tomorrow, it was saturday and she remembered Headmistress Branwell saying she was allowed to leave the Institute twice a month. Sure she'd no idea how to get to the center of London from there - if Nate even lived in London anymore - but that was something she'd have to worry about after getting her hands on his address.

"Come in,"

"Mrs Branwell, I'd like to speak to you." Tessa couldn't think of a better way to get hold of the address.

"Come on in, Miss Gray."

Tessa walked in and sat down in front of the older woman. Mrs Branwell had been surprised to see Tessa there, a flick of concern in her eyes. "How can I help you?" she asked.

"Could you give me Nate's," She started. "My brother's, address please?" Tessa was pressing her lips together, anxious for an answer. A positive answer, she hoped. "I'd like to send him a letter." Adding that might help her cause.

"I'm afraid…" Mrs Branwell's eyes were cautiously taking in Tessa's evident sadness, whether or not it had been slightly forced. But there was no time to feel guilty about deceiving her headmistress now. The thin line of the woman's lips twisted into something else, Tessa couldn't tell what exactly. Mrs Branwell was definitely pensive, considering her request, and then she reached for the keyboard of the computer, typing down _Theresa Gray_. She reached for a post-it and, after writing on it, she handed the paper to Tessa.

"Thank you."

And with a nod from Mrs Branwell Tessa politely left the room, her hand gripping on the paper. Now it was time to find out how not to get lost in London by herself, which would be pretty much impossible.

"Hey."

"Sophia," Tessa had never sound happier to see someone in that moment. "Fancy seeing you here. Could you help me out with something?"

"Sure." And the two finally moved away from the headmistress' office to a free classroom. Tessa explained that she'd like to go explore London tomorrow, but she had no idea how to get there. Despite Sophia's attempts to tag along, even though it was most likely out of concern, Tessa managed to convince her that she needed to do this alone, which wasn't necessarily a lie. In the end Sophia told her she'd have to take the bus that stopped not too far away from the Institute, five minutes walk apparently, at ten thirty in the morning.

"If you get lost give me a call and I'll try to help." Sophia offered.

"Thank you Sophia."

"Just be careful." Tessa smiled at the other girl, nodding before leaving the room.

On fridays Tessa only had english, which, as expected, was her favorite class. Tatiana kept glancing at her but she tried to ignore the stares and pay attention to the class, they were reading _Jane Eyre_. Tessa had read it before, she'd loved it then and was certainly enjoying reading it now. When the teacher stopped the reading and decided to make an oral quiz about what they'd read so far, Tessa's mind was no longer in that classroom but in _Thornfield Hall_. Obviously she was Jane, wandering by the river when _the horseman,_ Mr Rochester, came on and, even though she knew what would happen next, her muscles tensed when she recognized his eyes, those unmistakable blue and purplish eyes she'd been so bewitched by the first time she'd held their gaze. In a blink of an eye the horse slipped and the man was on the hard ground. _Will_ was on the floor. But it couldn't be Will, could it?

"Miss Gray!"

"Yes…" Tessa blinked twice, snapping out of whatever that was.

"Again," She could hear the annoyance in the teacher's voice. "Why is Mr Rochester a byronic hero?"

Wait, was Will a byronic hero? But Tessa shook her head, focusing on the question. She'd heard the term before, it was a variant for Romantic hero according to her previous english teacher. And effortlessly she started. "A byronic hero is someone that is as perfect as a hero but flawed like a human," The whispering around her could have been a problem if she wasn't so confident what she was saying was right. "Mr Rochester is a proud, arrogant, cynical, moody, dark, mysterious and miserable man due to a troubled past," Like Will, Tessa thought. Although she'd yet to find out what troubled past had made Will so cold. "Yet he's capable of deep and strong affection. As the plot progresses, a more passionate and affectionate side of Rochester emerges. That's what makes him a byronic hero." She concluded. "Despite his coldness and harshness, he's capable of love." Those last words made her think of Will again. She'd been doing it a lot lately.

"Well done Miss Gray," The professor, like they called them here, sounded impressed. "But please keep your head in the class." Tessa nodded and the class progressed, she could feel Tatiana's eye on her back, like daggers aimed directly at her heart.

As soon as the bell rang, Tessa gathered her belongings and moved towards the door, fast and without looking back, where Tatiana and her friends were laughing, most likely at Tessa.

"Oh crap," Tessa swore when she bumped into a tall figure, she'd been so distracted by the snickering and the urge to get out of there that she hadn't noticed where she was going. "I'm so sorry!"

Gabriel Lightwood. His eyes weren't its usual dark shade of green, maybe because there was no sight of Will nearby. "Are you alright?" He asked and creased his eyebrow. Was it that obvious? But Tessa couldn't tell him what was going on, partly because his sister was half the reason. The other half was thinking too much about Will instead of worrying about how the eff she'd find her brother in less than twenty four hours, by herself, in an unknown city.

"Yes," She said casually. "Just a bit sleepy I guess."

"Perhaps a nap would come on handy," He suggested with a smile. Gabriel was handsome, smiling suited him, making Tessa wonder why he didn't do it more often. "Come, I'll walk you to your room."

"You don't have to," Tessa started, but when she glanced over her shoulder and spotted Tatiana, her minions right after her, she agreed. "But thank you, I'd like that."

There was something in his eyes… surprise. He wasn't expecting Tessa would agree on it, she could think of a reason why. Tessa was still holding her notebook and the _Jane Eyre_ copy against her chest, "Could you hold this for a second?" She motioned the books forward and with a smile he took them. "Of course."

As they walked in her room's direction, Tessa opened her messenger bag and stuffed the books inside. Gabriel wasn't half as bad company as Will made him out to be. And apparently Jem agreed with him, although Tessa was pretty sure it was more to please Will than anything else.

"Thank you," She flashed him a grateful smile.

"No problem."

"Gabriel," His eyes gazed at her now, waiting for her to continue. "Are you talking to me only to annoy Will?"

Tessa had been spending more time with Jem than Will. Last night the two spent the afternoon playing trivial pursuit with Cecy, Will didn't show up to dinner. Tessa hadn't seen him since the whole dead-silent walk down the corridor, maybe that was why she'd been thinking about him lately. Curiosity. Or concern… But she quickly dismissed the latter.

"Unlike you might think, no I'm not."

"Then why?"

"Do I need a reason?" He arched his eyebrow.

"Well no but," _You're Tatiana's brother and she hates me_, Tessa wanted to say. But instead she went with, "You're clearly the golden boy of the Institute."

"Is that an euphemism for _the jerk jock_ of the school?" He attempted to say it with a general american accent. Tessa noticed a smirk on his lips and was relieved, for a moment she thought she'd sounded offensive in any way. Which was probably partly true.

"That's not what I meant."

"Save the apology Tessa, it's fine." He nudged her lightly. "I'll admit when I asked you to join us for dinner it was to annoy William and James. But William mostly." Well at least he was being honest, Tessa thought. "But our meeting today was not planned. I promise I'm not stalking you, I was having class nearby."

"I believe you." Why wouldn't she, he was admitting using her at the beginning to annoy Will. Although Tessa had no idea why her spending time with Gabriel would annoy him.

"Hey Tessa," She saw Cecily walking by, her eyes quickly spotting Gabriel and she came to a halt. "Gabriel."

"Cecily," Tessa smiled, glancing at Gabriel next. It was clear that there was a _tension_ between them, and, whatever it was, Tessa wouldn't stand between it. "Could you accompany Gabriel to the cafeteria?" Tessa turned to face her. "I'm not feeling well and he was just telling me how nice it would be to have some cheesecake now." Gabriel was definitely surprised and Tessa motioned him to go with Cecily instead of giving her a quizzical look or protest.

"Sure…" Cecy didn't sound suspicious and Gabriel didn't protest. Tessa wondered when lying became so easy to her, who hated lying. _It's okay to lie for a good cause._ Or at least she hoped it was.

"See you later then," Tessa waved goodbye at them, watching them walk down the corridor, opposite direction of where her room was. The corner of her lips lifted into a smile before turning to find Jem talking to Will, who leaned against the wall in front of her door. Tessa knitted her eyebrows together, she wasn't expecting them there, she wouldn't have accepted being escorted by Gabriel if she knew, but thankfully Cecy came just in time to save her from a long lecture on how Gabriel was the devil's spawn.

"Jem," Tessa smiled, it faded a little when she looked at Will. "Will."

"We came by to invite you to join us tomorrow." Jem said, Will barely looked at her. "We thought maybe we could show you London."

Tessa's throat tightened, her muscles tensed, but she was pretty sure she had been able to cover it up, the uneasiness. "Apparently she's not interested in our humble Ol' London." Will finally spoke, not quite like what she'd expected this moment to be. If she had even expected anything.

"I'd love to," She trailed off, trying to come up with an excuse in her head. "But Sophia… We have plans."

"What kind of plans?" Will's eye were so intense on her, it was like he could pierce through her, _see_ through her.

"Will! It's none of our business," Jem frowned at Will and then looked at Tessa, apologetically. "We can go some other time then."

"Sure." Tessa wanted to, for a second she considered giving up on her plan, but remembering all the paper she'd wasted on the letters, she _had_ to do this. "Would you guys like to come in?" She mentioned at the door as she reached for the keys in her bag. "We can play something?" Tessa added.

"A game sounds wonderful." Jem beamed.

"Actually I can't." Both Tessa and Jem glanced at Will. "I have some paperwork to finish. It's due tonight."

"Oh see you later then." Jem waved at Will. Tessa forced an understanding smile. Part of her was disappointed, but a bigger part was glad she wouldn't have to hold her tongue because he was around, not that she ever did, but she didn't want to upset Jem. Or even Will. Tessa was getting closer to Jem, she always felt better when he was around, his smile lighted up her face and she hadn't had a lot of reasons to smile lately.

"Come on." She grabbed Jem's hand, pulling him inside.

* * *

_A/N: Here is the new chapter. I'll update next weekend, real life has been busy and I have the exam next week._

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know your thoughts about it._


	7. Secrets-Escapes-Lies

**Disclamer:**** I don't own these characters. They all belong to Cassandra Clare.**

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**Secrets-Escapes-Lies**

The room was tidy, Tessa hated when things where out of place and every morning, before heading out for breakfast, she made sure she left a presentable room behind. Letting go of Jem's hand, she hanged her bag of the back of the armchair before she gathered some paper sheets and two pens from her drawer. Tessa didn't owned any board games or cards yet, but she remembered how she used to play _City-Country-River_ with her family when growing up.

"How was your day?" Jem asked, standing awkwardly by the door. "I didn't see you the whole day..."

"It was nice," Turning from her nightstand table to face Jem, her eyes widened a bit when she realized he would stay there if she didn't invite him to sit down. "I know I only have one chair but take it."

"Oh no, I can stand…"

"Stand?" She chuckled teasingly, creasing her eyebrow. "I could swear writing standing borders the impossible."

"Write, right…"

"Go on, take it. I prefer the bed anyway."

Hesitantly, Jem walked to the armchair, it was opposite to the bed where Tessa was seating, her legs crossed, with a notebook under her paper sheet. She handed out a couple of papers to him and a pen, which he took with a smile before finally sitting. "Thank you." He said with a nod.

"Have you ever played _City-Country-River_?"

"Er…" Jem glanced at the papers on his hand and pressed his lips together. "I'm afraid I haven't."

"Alright so," Tessa started drafting a grid with ten columns. "One of us starts by saying the alphabet, the letter _A_ must always be said out loud and the rest almost like a whisper. While one says the alphabet, the other says stop whenever he/she decides and the selected letter will be the one used that round. Let's say you're saying the alphabet and I say stop and the letter it's _M_, now we write down terms that begin with that letter that fit into the categories." Glancing at Jem, she could see he was focused on her words which was a big relief because he didn't seem confused like she expected. Usually she wasn't good at explaining games. "Which leads me to the categories. I usually play with eight. _Names, Countries, Colors, Animals, Plants/Vegetables/Fruits, Jobs, Objects and Famous People._"

"Hmm… Alright, I think I got it." He nodded, bitting his lower lip as he started drawing the grid. "So what happens next?"

"The first finishing says stop and then we count the points."

"Alright then, should we start?" Finally he smiled again.

"Also, you should add two more columns, one for the points and one for the letters. It's not mandatory but I usually add them."

"Nice tip."

"Alright then that's all. Should I start?"

"Yes, please." He beamed, playing with the pen cap.

"A," Tessa begun, whispering until she heard Jem's voice again. Unconsciously, she shut her eyes, a habit she developed growing up. When his voice finally echoed in her ears, her grey eyes flew open. "T!"

The two of them started scribbling, Tessa's hand was almost moving automatically, fast and steady on the paper. _Theodore, Thailand, Teal, Tapir, Tomato, Teacher_, and then she hesitated, glancing around at the room. T, T, objects starting with a T. And then her eyes landed on the table next to her bed. _Table_ and _Thomas Hardy_. "Stop!"

Jem's eyes widened and he gasped, there was surprise on his face and Tessa felt a twinge of pride creeping inside her. She'd beaten Jem, whom she considered someone rather intelligent, but the feeling didn't last long when she remembered that this was his first time playing. "That was… incredibly fast." Jem chuckled, he didn't seem upset for having three empty spots on the grid. "I'm afraid I've lost this round."

"Well it's your first time playing." Tessa beamed. "You'll beat me soon enough, don't worry."

"I'm playing against a champion, my odds at winning the game are rather low."

Tessa chuckled, shaking her head. She remembered when her brother would storm out of the room, furious he always lost. Tessa and her parents would laugh because he was clearly exaggerating, it was just a game after all. But maybe that was why he turned to gambling, maybe they led him to that terrible addiction. Or maybe she was the one exaggerating now, surely it didn't help, but there had to be a stronger reason behind it. Snapping out of it before Jem noticed, Tessa looked at her grid. "Let's count the points now. I chose Theodore for the name."

"Theresa." When Tessa glanced at Jem he was staring at her but he quickly averted his eyes, a flush of pink tainting his cheeks.

Clearing her throat, she continued. "Ten points for both of us." Tessa could tell he was a bit uncomfortable for being caught, she didn't want to make things awkward between them, it was the last thing she wished for. She wrote down the points next to the word. "Thailand."

"Thailand."

"Five points for each of us." She bit her lip, of course he'd choose an Asian country. "Teal."

"Turquoise."

"Ten points, I think you got the sway of it now." She smiled at him.

"Yes, I think I got it." Jem nodded. "So, I chose Tiger."

"Tapir."

"I didn't write anything on the next three so…"

"Then I'll get fifteen points for each." She smiled brightly. "Tomato, teacher and table."

"Of course." His laugh was so kind, if one could even sound like that. His hair was spiking in weird angles, it always did when he ran his fingers through it, which he clearly had while playing.

"And last but not least. Thomas Hardy." Tessa beamed proudly, adding to prevent confusion. "He's a writer."

"Thomas Morley. Barroque Composer."

The time went by and the two of them played seven more rounds, unaware that it was past dinner time and the cafeteria was about to close. It was so easy to lose track of time when she was with Jem, he was easy to talk to, like he always knew what to say, what she needed to hear. Jem was the kind of boy that makes you feel special even when you're at your lowest, the kind of person that would stick by you through the harshest of times and would advise you the best way he can, always doing the right thing. Always saying the right thing.

Cursing under her breath with gleeful eyes, Tessa moved out of the bed and Jem gingerly took her hand, pulling her out of the room. It was starting to be a thing with them, pulling each other in or out of rooms. But Tessa tried to ignore that coincidence for the time being. By the time they arrived the cafeteria Tessa was breathless and Jem was gasping. He coughed a handful of times, repeating every time that he was alright when Tessa looked at him with worry plastered across her features.

"Are you sure?" She pressed her palm against her chest, feeling the pace slowing down considerably. "You don't look good."

He laughed, a heavily breathy laugh with coughs in-between that made Tessa flinch. "Why, thank you I suppose."

"Oh god no," She corrected herself, feeling her cheeks warming up quickly. "That's not-"

"I know." He smiled shyly. His eyes were glistening, hair dangling over his goldish eyes. He was slightly bent over his knees.

"But seriously Jem, are you alright?" Her eyes met his and Tessa made sure he saw the concern in hers.

"Yes, I am." His tone was definite, she couldn't argue with that. But there was this voice in the back of her head warning her that he was lying.

"Then we should walk in."

When they walked in there was only one person inside, a young man that Tessa had never seen before. Much like Jem, he had asian features, Southeast Asia Tessa guessed, his skin was flawless, darker than Jem's. Jem's was sun kissed, this boy's had a brown tone to his skin, earthy but not too dark. And his eyes, Tessa couldn't stop herself from staring. Could anyone even have eyes like that, so cat-like, not like anything Tessa had ever seen before. Jem had to squeeze her hand some times before she shifted her attention back to him. Apparently he hadn't noticed whom she was looking at, but clearly he had said something.

"Sorry, I was distracted."

"I see, anything troubling you?"

"What?" There was a hint of nervousness, thinking she might had given him the impression that something made her indeed nervous. Mostly what she'd do in the following day, but there was no chance he'd know about that. "No, everything is alright."

"Good then, should we order? I think the kitchen is closing any minute now."

"Yeah, sure."

The kitchen was indeed closing, wasn't Jem's bright beam and sweet words, which in any other person would have been fake and suck-up, they wouldn't even have the sandwiches to eat.

"Can they throw us out of here?"

"I hope not." Jem smiled before taking a bite.

Glancing behind Jem, Tessa could still see the other boy, he was with headphones and watching something on the laptop. When their eyes met Tessa averted her gray ones, discreetly taking a bite. She wondered why she'd never seen him before, he wasn't a face she'd forget, she'd never forget a pair of eyes so strikingly mysterious. Her mind had been wandering, her body working automatically, taking bites of the sandwich and occasionally smiling at Jem, and when she realized, the boy had already vanished from the room.

"It's getting late," Jem pointed out. "And I'm afraid they want to close the cafeteria."

Tessa glanced at the cook by the door, glowering at them, she was definitely not happy and Tessa couldn't blame her. "Yes, if the cook's glare could kill us, we'd be dead already."

"She can be rather impatient sometimes, but she's a nice person."

"You think everyone is nice, Jem."

"Not everyone, some people are perpetually cruel."

Her heart tightened in her chest, a sharp pain at the thought that maybe her brother bordered the cruel on their last meeting. Would he greet her with a dagger in the back once more tomorrow? Tessa guess she'd have to wait to find out. "Let's go before she decides to poison our pancakes tomorrow morning."

On the way back to her room they were mostly silent, it was a peaceful silence, like taking a hot bath after a long day of work, comforting like coming home. Safe. Tessa never questioned why it was so easy to connect with Jem, why he seemed to get her perfectly even if not entirely, even if he couldn't pierce her soul and easily dig deep into her and find out all her secrets. But does anyone want their deepest fears and secrets out there? Does anyone want to feel vulnerable? Stripped down of façades and masks. Defenseless with the chance of being hurt at the end of the line? At least this was safe, whatever this was. _Friendship_, this friendship was safe.

"So have a good night." He reached for her hand, softly kissing her knuckles.

"Good night Jem." Tessa smiled at him before going inside.

* * *

If Tessa was expecting to sleep at all, she was utterly disappointed in the morning when the sun rose on the east and lighten up her whole room. It hurt her eyes how brightly the sun shone, she was pretty sure it was partly because she didn't sleep a wink last night, not that it even mattered anymore. Slowly jumping out of bed, Tessa knew it was early, eight in the morning almost, but she had a feeling it would be a long morning for her.

After showering, dressing up and breakfast, Tessa returned to her room to grab her warmest coat and her messenger bag. Looking at her watch, it was almost ten and she didn't want to take any chances. Tessa sneakily left the Institute, thankful no one she knew had seen her, it was bad enough that she'd found Cecily over breakfast, she couldn't have her plan ruined by running into someone else. In a sprint, Tessa got to the bus stop in a little less than five minutes, it was exactly where Sophia had told her it would be. Sitting down, she reached for her angel, squeezing it hard, her stomach was in knots, she hadn't touched her breakfast. Tessa couldn't bring herself to do it, she was a nerve wreck.

Glancing around, there was nothing that hinted there was life nearby, not a single house or small market, there was clearance on the other side of the road, she could see a small forest further down and that was it. The whistling of the birds relaxed her, although her body fought it, or better, her brain did. She hadn't been able to sleep, going through every possible scenario on how this meeting could go. Her heart was a clockwork, moving against time, afraid of getting broken after having worked smoothly for so many years. Her mind was on a marathon, reaching an impossible speed, exceeding the speed of light even. Tessa couldn't remember the last time she felt so nervous, not even before a big exam or cotillion last December.

Surprisingly, the whistle got louder, Tessa couldn't tell if it was only in her head, it almost sounded human. It was human.

"Will?" Tessa gasped, her eyes widening at the sight of him.

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_A/N: Here's the new chapter as promised. This is how we play City-Country-River in Portugal, it's probably different where you live though._

_I hope you enjoyed it!_


	8. Tears That Never Came

**Disclaimer****: I do not own any of these characters. They belong to Cassandra Clare.**

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**Tears That Never Came**

"Tessa, fancy seeing you here." He glanced around, clearly amused. "Where's Sophia?"

"We," Tessa swallowed hard, nibbling on her lower lip. "The plans were cancelled."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, it's fine."

"So where are you going?"

"Sorry?" The bewilderment in her voice was obvious.

"Why are you in the bus stop?" He raised his eyebrow warily. "Unless of course you enjoy listening to the birds chirping while standing at a bus stop. Something completely natural I'd say."

"You can keep your sarcasm Will." Tessa glared at him. "I'm going to London, to visit someone."

"Oh great then, I can keep you company."

"That's not-,"

"It's a beautiful day isn't it?" Will ignored her, clearly on purpose. "Who are you visiting again?"

"A family member." Tessa was not pleased, her glare of daggers made sure Will knew that.

"Family member?" The smug on his face faded. There was something Tessa was glad surprised Will for once, he always made it look like he had an answer for everything, _knew_ everything.

"Yes, a family member." Awkwardly pulling on the sleeve of her coat, Tessa attempted to change the subject. "Why are you going to London?"

"I wasn't aware you had any family in London." However, of course Will wouldn't let it die, his persistence was both infuriating and endearing but Tessa wouldn't let him pry any longer. Or she'd at least try to stop him.

"There's a lot of stuff you don't know about me Will." She said. "That's only one of them."

This silenced Will. For a long while they stood there, next to each other, a million questions going through both their minds but Tessa decided she wouldn't be the one breaking the silence this time. Even though having Will there ruined her plan of going unnoticed, it was also reassuring to know that if they got in trouble he'd know a way out of it. Or so Tessa hoped.

London was quieter, darker and much less busier than New York. There was a lot of traffic, but not the notorious traffic jam of the Big Apple's mornings, or the smell of coffee filling every nook and crack of the city. Tessa shifted on her seat, leaning against the windowpane and gaped at the sight of the London Eye, it was certainly bigger than she'd pictured in her head, even from the other side of the river. She wished she could visit it at night, Tessa always thought cities were prettier under the starry sky, illuminated by the moon and the old lamp posts. That's when one could see their true beauty, under the glare of the bright silver moon.

"This is your first time visiting London."

It wasn't a question, but Tessa confirmed it anyway. "Yes." She didn't turn to look at him, but she could feel the gaze of his observant eyes on her, scrutinizing her every move. For once she didn't feel he was judging her.

Passing London Eye meant she was near her stop. Embankment, that's where she had to hop off, from there the adventure would finally start.

When she shifted and stood up from her seat, Will realized he should move too. Tessa felt a heaviness in her gut, the closer she got the more she felt like throwing up. If ever an exam made her nervous, this was a billion times worse. Tessa wasn't sure if it was the fear of being hurt again by her brother or the thought of Will watching her be rejected by Nate, but she felt sicker every passing second. Would he mock her? Would he pity her like everyone else did after her parents passed away? She couldn't think about it now or she'd puke on him.

Glancing around, Tessa felt the nervousness in the pit of her stomach intensify, she had no idea how to get there, she hadn't planned that far. But she didn't want Will to go with her, she needed to do it alone. "So, I guess this is where we part ways."

"I'm afraid that won't happen." He stuffed his hands in his coat pockets, looking her in the eyes. She could swear he was daring her to get rid of him.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Not at the moment, no."

"Where you following me this morning?" She gaped and her eyes widened at the realization.

"I saw Sophia this morning," He said as answer. "Apparently she'll be in the library the whole day, a surprise I know. But the most enlightening part of that short conversation was discovering you'd be taking the bus to London this morning."

Tessa cursed under her breath. Later she'd have a little chat with Sophia about not revealing her whereabouts to anyone, especially not to William Herondale.

"Now don't be mad at Sophia, I might have pressured her into telling me."

"Why did you come Will?" She asked.

"I figured you'd need someone to guide you around the city.." He shrugged. "Besides it's been a while since I've last been out of the school."

"I don't need you to baby sit me."

"I know." He said, and she could see in his eyes that he meant it. "Where are we going?"

"12 Guilford St."

Will seemed to be drawing a map in his head because for a moment silence settled. Tessa often did that when the tourists asked for directions back in New York, now she was the one lost in an unfamiliar city. "We need to take the tube right there." He pointed at the end of a bridge and strode towards it, Tessa right behind him.

The hot dusty smell and the whooshing of the trains circulating underground was somehow familiar, and the sea of people don't surprise her. London is a big city, Tessa was aware of that, yet it was quiet here. And the people were different, more polished, if that was even there best word to describe it.

"Stay close to me." Will told her, glancing over his should at her.

Tessa tried to observe every corner of the station, take in every perfume and listen to the faintest of sounds - other than the obvious humming of the trains. The stale dirty air filled her lungs, it was somehow calming to focus on these little things instead of what would happen next. She made sure Will never got out of her sight, getting lost in the underground would only complicate things.

The whole subway trip was silent, Tessa noticed people kept to themselves, reading the newspaper or checking their emails on the phones. There was the occasional group of tourists that chatted, but that didn't seem to bother anyone there. Was it a Londoner thing not to talk in the subway? They had to switch lines and when they finally stepped out of subway she took a deep breath, Tessa was wearing a thick coat but even so she had to snug it up against her body.

If she thought she'd puke when she hopped off the bus earlier, then now she could swear her stomach was in knots and her mouth had an acid taste to it. This was it, in less than five minutes she'd face her brother again. Maybe for the last time, and she wasn't ready to let go, not without putting up a fight.

"This family member of yours must be the Devil's spawn if you're this pale and you haven't even knocked on the door yet." Will finally interrupted the silence that had been drowning them since they left Embankment.

"He wasn't far from it last time…" She mumbled, not loud enough for him to hear it. "I'm fine." Tessa forced a smiled before she stepped forward and rang the bell.

"Is this person some evil aunt that eats children for breakfast?"

But before Tessa could open her mouth the door opened. Nate. He was definitely not in good shape, but then it's Saturday morning, Tessa didn't expect him to be any other than hangover.

"Tessie." He blurted out, his eyes widening a little before he grimaced. Tessa was not sure whether it was due to her visit or the daylight, but she forced a smile nevertheless. Hearing him using her nickname, the one he once used to address her with affection.

"Nate."

"What are you doing here?" He rubbed his eyes. Nate had just woken up.

"I wanted to visit you…" She started. "Can I come in?" Tessa knew it was a shot in the dark, he had been so unpredictable in their last encounter, she feared this time wouldn't be any different. The sound of Will clearing his throat reminded Tessa that she was not alone. "Oh. And this is Will."

"No."

"Sorry?" Tessa held her breath, chewing on her lower lip.

"You can't come in." Nate's voice was harsher this time. "And never come back."

"N-Nate please…" She stammered, she was sure Will could hear the despair in her voice because, when Nate was about to shut the door, he stepped forward and blocked the door from closing with his foot.

"It's not polite to slam doors in one's face." Will growled, his eyes darkening as he pinned Nate with his deadly glare.

"Tessa you better tell your friend to step away." Something about Nate's threat made her blood boil in her veins.

"Or what?" Will's daring tone did not help.

"At this rate you won't have to wait too long to find out." Nate gritted his teeth and Tessa could see that if she didn't put an end to this now, someone would come out of it with a black eye.

"Enough!" She cried out, not carrying if people glanced at them in surprise or glared because she was perturbing their morning stroll. "Nate, just tell me why and you'll never see me again. Please." She pleaded again, looking down for some kind of support, she wasn't sure she could fulfill the promise. He was her only family after all. But she made it anyway. "I promise."

Nate eyed her warily and then glared at Will, who's eyes gleamed with rage but didn't move an inch. Tessa clenched her fists against her stomach, churning, and underneath it all the persistent anxiousness seethed. This whole wait was overwhelming, but nothing could prepare her for what she was about to hear. "All these years I was the fool of the family. The black sheep, the shame in a _respectable_ family." He started. "You know, I honestly thought it was because I was never interested in school when clearly you were a genius." Nate laughed, something in its tone made her skin crawl. This wasn't her brother, what had they done to him? "But we can't blame ourselves, can we? After all we are the image of our parents. And mine included a lying whore and some drunkard she met in college. I bet you three spent countless evenings making a mockery out of my unfortunate birth.

"But what was the question again? Ah yes, why I abandoned you at that school. Call it convenience. You're a burden to me, _your_ parents left me with a whiny, needy child and I simply don't have patient nor time to be dragged into your school failures or teenage love problems." Nate glanced at Will, a smug smile on his face when he saw the color creeping up his neck. Tessa could feel her own cheeks warm up, a blend of embarrassment and rage. She winced, words chocking in her throat as she tried to find something to say. Her vision was blurred and she could feel her eyes watering as he carried on. "You have no idea what it felt like watching you being pampered all the time, snuggled in love and praised by every single person that came to visit. Some of them barely remembered my name after five minutes, but yours? How can anyone forget Theresa Gray, the perfect daughter? Not once one of them spent more than two heartbeats looking at me when you were in the same room, glowing like a fallen angel." There was wrath in his eyes, he believed in those words and it only made Tessa sadder.

Light-headed, confused, frozen in place. Each of his words was a sharp dagger in her heart, a slap on the cheek. Misery was consuming her every inch when Will launched at her brother, striking him on the jaw, and turned to take her hand, standing between Tessa and Nate, protectively.

"Rot in hell, bastard!" Will hissed, his hand was steady around hers, she was trembling. "Come on Tess."

Tessa let him guide her, away from that street, away from her brother, but she could still hear Nate shouting after them, cursing. Will didn't try to make her talk, he just walked, the occasional squeeze on her hand was the only reminder that he was there.

Despite the anguish, Tessa didn't cry. Her eyes were damp but the tears never came, maybe because she was still too shocked to collapse now and her head hurt. She was weak to her knees and if someone shot her right now it would be merciful for she couldn't imagine the ache ever fading.

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_A/N: I've spent too long without updating. Real life can get crazy sometimes. I'm afraid I can't update as often as I'd like but here's one more chapter._

_I hope you enjoyed it!_


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